Astronomers Found a Strange Signal Coming From a Sun-Like Star

Astronomers in Russia have observed a strange signal coming from a star less than 100 light-years away. This announcement has excited SETI scientists around the world with the (unlikely but not unfeasible) possibility that the signal may be from an alien civilization.

The strange signal was observed by astronomers at the RATAN-600 telescope in southern Russia back in 2015, but was only announced this weekend by Paul Gilster of Centauri Dreams. The complete findings are due to be announced at this year's International Astronautical Congress in September.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The star in question, HD 164595, is located about 95 light-years away from the Earth, and it has a mass about 99 percent that of the Sun, making it almost identical. One planet, HD 164595 b, has already been observed orbiting the star, and is about the same size as Neptune with a year of 40 days.

Before you get too excited, it's unlikely that this signal will turn out to be aliens. It's more likely to be due to a terrestrial signal or random noise. After all, literally every potential alien signal in human history so far has turned out to be a false alarm. Nonetheless, SETI astronomers at several other telescopes around the world will be looking at HD 164595 intently over the next few weeks to see if they can pick up a repeat of the same signal. With any luck, they might succeed.